


Crossing Lines

by whimsicalmuffinman



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: "theyre gay" i scream from a distance, Awkward Kissing, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Gentle Kissing, Hurt/Comfort, I don't think I need other tags but if I think of any I'll add them in., M/M, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 20:45:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11425869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whimsicalmuffinman/pseuds/whimsicalmuffinman
Summary: Vincent hasn't had much to do as of late but to help Tifa in her efforts to repair her bar to it's former glory, but a surprise visit from Cloud makes him question what exactly his relationships mean to him.





	Crossing Lines

**Author's Note:**

> *Finally Writes something that's NOT a Jojo fic.*

Vincent stepped into the darkness of his apartment, his expression schooled onto a stony neutral as per his usual. He'd been assisting Tifa in doing minor renovations to her bar in her seemingly never-ending quest to get it back to its former glory from before, as he'd come to understand, Shinra dropped the sector seven plate on top of her home and livelihood.

It seemed to him, perhaps, that she was trying to find odd jobs to keep him occupied. Maybe she was worried about him in her own way, after all, if there was anything he was good at doing after twenty years of sleep, it was closing people out of his life nearly instantaneously. He had no such intentions, tough he doubted that he would be able to put that emotion into words enough to sooth her worries any, and keeping up with physical activity was probably good for him anyway. He was unsure if he could still become particularly unfit, but he was almost sure he could become lazy.

After all, he could still recall just how hard it was for him to drag himself up to his feet after his "nap".

He fiddled for a moment in the dark to undo the buckles that held his cloak in place, not really feeling it necessary to turn the lights on. He managed to get them undone after a moment, shrugging the fabric from his shoulder and dropping himself into a chair, draping his cloak across the armrest.

He felt tired. Maybe he was just getting old.

He could have laughed at the thought.

He allowed his eyes to fall closed, and drifted into sleep, apparently, as he was startled awake by the sound of bare feet approaching him through the darkness of his living room.

His eyes shot open for him to realize that it was just Cloud. He could tell before the lights were flipped on, thanks to the faint glow of the Mako in his eyes, but winced against the light better to make sure he was seeing properly.

"Cloud." He said. Now that he was getting a better look, it seemed that Cloud had made himself at home in his apartment, looking drowsy still, hair mussed, and with his boots and overcoat removed. Vincent glanced over to notice it was hanging on the coat rack that he rarely actually used, and snorted softly at himself for not noticing it when he'd come in. He certainly seemed to have made himself cozy. Vincent really didn't mind that thought, though. He was sort of thankful for the company no matter if it was rather sudden.

"Hi, Vincent." He said softly, not really mustering much of an expression but seemingly attempting a smile. It seemed like there may have been something bothering him, but Vincent knew better than to press the subject if it hadn't been brought up. Cloud was still recovering from the stress they'd faced in the last couple of years, and Vincent couldn't fault him for trying to bottle it up. (After all, that was his first response as well.)

"Have you been waiting long?"

"Not really, I hope you don't mind that I took a nap while I was waiting." Cloud's lips quirked up into a smirk, and he settled down into the chair across from Vincent. "I wanted to check on you."

Vincent hummed, adjusting in his seat. He had a sneaking suspicion that Cloud had just wanted company, but he chose not to point that out.

"I've been well, helping Tifa and with the other relief efforts as I'm needed." He responded. Something flashed across Cloud's face, and Vincent wondered if he'd said the wrong thing. "You?"

There was a pause.

"I'm glad I'm getting to see you. It's been a long time." Cloud avoided the question, though his response was a little telling.

"I'm not going anywhere." Vincent remarked softly, he hadn't entirely meant to say it aloud, but the sentiment was true. Cloud sighed, giving Vincent a warm smile that felt hollow.

"Good, I'd hate to have to drive all the way to Nibelhiem to drag your ass out of that coffin again." Cloud's gaze dropped to the floor, thumbs slowly circling over one another over interlinked fingers. Vincent allowed the conversation to trail off, not wanting to press Cloud. He would speak when he was ready.

In the meantime, he stood, stepping into the joined kitchen and reaching for some of the cooled, sanitized water that he kept stored. He didn't keep much, as he wasn't one for entertaining, exactly, but he made sure to keep the clean water around because of the relief efforts. Cloud's gaze had shifted to follow him, and he mumbled his gratitude as he was passed the drink. They sat in quiet for a long while, Cloud staring at the wooden slats in the flooring while Vincent occupied himself with the research he'd been reading lately, mostly about the lifestream. Eventually Cloud chose to break the silence, after he'd stepped closer and glanced over Vincent's shoulder.

"Are you trying to learn about it?"

Vincent nodded, trying to remain focused on his reading but finding Cloud drawing more of his attention. He was quiet today, which meant he probably needed help through something. If only Vincent was actually any good at preemptively helping Cloud before he wound up breaking down (again).

"I think it might be useful to learn about it, I may find something useful I could pass onto Reeve or Barrett."

Cloud made a thoughtful noise, and they remained silent for a moment more while Cloud drew slowly closer. Cloud was still quiet as he gently leaned down, resting his chin on the bony part of Vincent's shoulder. Vincent glanced at him, but continued reading as best as he could.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes." Cloud sighed. "It's just nice to be here. It's nice to know that you still will have me around."

"The company is nice." Vincent admitted.

Cloud hummed thoughtfully, putting a little more weight on Vincent and letting his eyes slipped closed.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes. Do you want me to move?"

"Mm. Rather I was thinking we could move to the couch so that you don't have to hover over me." Vincent felt Cloud tilt his head down and him smile against his shoulder.

"That would be nice." Clouds voice was soft, and sounded unsure. Vincent closed the dossier, easing Cloud off of his shoulder as he stood to his feet so he didn't wind up clobbering him in the jaw. Cloud shuffled over to the couch, waiting for Vincent to settle in comfortably before he more or less flopped onto him like he was a dead fish.

Vincent settled back into reading and Cloud seemed content to nuzzle into his side and rest. Vincent stole a glance or two at Cloud's face, marveling at how well he'd tried to cover the fact he must have been exhausted. There were dark bags forming underneath his eyes, and there were areas of his face that seemed involuntarily tensed.

Vincent gently looped his arm around Cloud's waist, tugging him a little closer so that he was properly resting against him despite the small noise of protest from his sleepy friend.

"Shush. It's a small couch and you're not that heavy."

"If I didn't know better, I'd guess you were trying to hit on me, Vincent." Cloud snorted.

"I wouldn't do that with you being exhausted."

Cloud mumbled something that Vincent suspected was a 'you wouldn't anyway', and it made Vincent smile very slightly. Perhaps it was a little strange to snuggle with a close friend on a couch-- more of a loveseat, actually. But if your friendship wasn't a little gay then were you really friends?

There wasn't anything wrong with being gay at any rate anyway. He and Lucretia had both been bisexual, and as far as he was aware, Cloud was as well.

Though his motivation was moreso that he could have physical contact with someone that wasn't trying to push him into another relationship. He was content to let this be what it was and let whatever this was go wherever it needed. He didn't know that he and Cloud were anything, and if they were he didn't know that they would ever decide to talk about it. He was OK with that. He was happy to have someone close at any rate. It would never be a replacement for Lucretia, but it felt nice to feel comfortable and happy with someone.

Cloud pushed the dossier out of the center of Vincent's vision, replacing it with himself and replacing Vincent's arm across his back.

"You've got that grouchy look again."

"It's called thinking, Cloud. And like you have any room to talk about grouchy looks."

"I came here to snuggle and I get insulted." Cloud muttered, though he was pretty clearly hiding a smile into Vincent's shirt.

"I see what my purpose here is." Vincent sat the file down onto Cloud's spine, looping his other arm around him and just holding his friend. This was their relationship some of the time, all soft voices and comforting touches. Vincent lazily tracing the curve of his back with his hands and Cloud trying to bury himself into the fabric of Vincent's shirt to get closer to him and try and steal what little warmth he had.

Vincent felt like he was going to fall asleep again when Cloud next spoke up.

"Vincent?" He asked, seemingly more alert than he had been when he'd woken Vincent the first time. His voice sounded calmer, much more like the Cloud that he'd known for several years now and less like the frightened, confused Cloud that lurked at the edges of his conscience and whittled himself down over insecurities.

Vincent gave a sleepy grunt to let him know that he was listening, even if he was getting tired.

"Would it cross a line if I kiss you?"

Vincent felt himself stiffen slightly, taken off guard by the question. He'd always been pretty easy to fluster, actually, so he wasn't sure how to respond. And if he did respond, he wasn't sure he'd be capable of speaking actual English.

There was a considerable pause, then softly:

"Right. Sorry."

Cloud tucked his face back into Vincent's shirt, though that didn't keep Vincent from noticing the slightly hurt expression. Vincent made a small uncomfortable sound in his throat, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. His go-to reaction to things like this was to play entirely passive, but that didn't seem like the right thing to do, especially when he knew that Cloud had more-or-less the same mentality.

"I should go. I didn't mean to make things awkward." Cloud sighed. Neither of them made a move to leave, though-- they were both hesitating.

It took a few moments, but Cloud eventually shifted to get off of him, and Vincent panicked. He didn't want for Cloud to go, but got was he really terrible at this. If only social interaction was as simple as gun maintenance or looking intimidating.

Stupid Turk training, it never seemed to come in handy at the worst of times. That may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but to Vincent, this felt like a big deal compared to fighting, which had become automatic.

Cloud managed to prop himself up onto his hands by the time Vincent took action, a clumsy, quick press of his lips to Cloud's jaw line that left Vincent cringing at himself. Well, that went as smooth as butter.

Cloud seemed a little stunned as he registered that the awkward bump of their faces together was meant to be a kiss and he couldn't help but to try and bite back a laugh. He still wound up snickering, Vincent looking a lot like he wanted to hide in the couch cushions and face twinged uncharacteristically red. For all the unearthly things that Vincent did, being flustered at himself was awfully human.

"You kind of suck at this."

"Good to know that hasn't changed." Vincent murmured, twisting his body away from Cloud.

He was nearly fifty years old and still couldn't flirt to save his life. He couldn't entirely place the blame on himself, but he often switched between feeling like he'd been used by Lucretia, to feeling blue over her death, to feeling as though it was his own ineptitude that had eventually led to Lucretia's eventual disinterest in him.

God he hoped Cloud wouldn't get bored of him. They weren't even dating but it still weighed heavy in his mind. At least Cloud wasn't mad. He was staring at him and smiling though, which really wasn't doing anything to make him feel less awkward with himself and the situation.

"Vincent?"

Vincent turned his head in acknowledgement, but was still looking rather torn up by it.

"I'm going to kiss you now, alright?" There was a smile in Cloud's voice, and something akin to mischief. Vincent huffed, expecting some sort of prank to follow. It was still Cloud after all. He wasn't going to be outdone. Awkward and flustered, yes, but he was nothing if not stubborn. Cloud smiled (cutely) and leaned in towards him. He had Cloud's number, he wasn't going to be fooled by whatever he was planning.

Oh.

Oh god it wasn't a joke. King of reading the situation the wrong way, as always, Vincent was surprised to find that Cloud just pressed a couple of gentle kisses to his mouth.

Vincent really should have expected that. Cloud hadn't been in the joking mood for the whole night, and perhaps it had been denial that had even made him follow that line of thought that Cloud had been joking. He was feeling one thing for sure-- flustered. The rest was a murky mix of things that he needed to work through before he could fully reciprocate the kiss. He registered feeling a sense of impending dread that had followed him with any strong emotions towards anyone after his trauma, and he chose to ignore it, as he'd gotten better at doing recently with his new group of... friends?

Furthermore, he was conflicted. He knew that it was Cloud that had initiated this situation, but it still felt a little like he was taking advantage of Cloud in an emotionally unstable moment. It might have been what Cloud felt like he needed in that moment, but somehow Vincent doubted that-- it seemed like this had been something that had been weighing on Cloud for a while.

 

"Vincent."

 

Was it bad of Vincent to feel like he didn't want this to stop? He felt comfortable and relaxed despite his nerves, and if there was anyone that he would have wanted for this to happen with, it would have been Cloud. He wasn't sure now was the best time to explore that thought, he'd wind up overthinking it and shutting it out until it crushed him and any feelings that there was there. There was the soothing feeling of a hand gently tugging through his hair.

 

"Vincent, you're spacing out." Cloud said, finally managing to draw his attention out of his thoughts. "You're overthinking this. I want to kiss you right now, and it doesn't have to mean anything more than that right now. I would like for you to be present for it, though." There was a beat of silence and then Vincent sighed.

 

"Cloud, you know as well as I do that this is going to mean something whether we say it does or not." Cloud grunted softly, leaning down again and pressing more kisses to Vincent's neck and jaw, trying to shut him up, keeping him pinned with his legs. Vincent's voice was more stern; "Cloud." That earned a defeated sigh. "I don't want to be a tool for you to hurt yourself."

 

"No, no, you're right." Cloud mumbled. "I'm not trying to hurt myself but it's not fair to expect you to just accept all of this without talking about it."

 

"You're right. I'm not angry at you, I just want to make sure you're alright." That made Cloud smirk.

 

"Aren't you sweet?" Vincent bit back a smile himself. "Maybe that's why I want to kiss you. May we start this again?"

 

"I'd be alright with that."

 

"Vincent, can I kiss you again? It's relaxing being around you, and you're very attractive." Vincent averted his gaze, flushing.

 

"Do you want things between us to change?" Vincent asked. Cloud hummed thoughtfully, seeming to genuinely consider the question.

 

"I'm... I'm not sure." Cloud sighed, sounding frustrated. He leaned forward again, relaxing against Vincent again, seemingly giving up on the situation. His brow was furrowed, and he looked like he was struggling to work through his thoughts. "I like the way that we are and I don't want to do this if it's going to ruin it." There was another silence-- this one heavier. "Do you want things to change between us?"

 

"Yes. I think I would like that, if I'm being honest." Vincent said, his voice was very soft. Cloud seemed to release a little bit of tension. "I won't push our friendship in that direction unless you want to go that direction too. I will be here for as long as you want me here."

 

"I think I might like that too. Do you think we could... do whatever else this is?" Cloud buried his head in the fabric of Vincent's shirt. Vincent pulled him in closer and stroked his hand across his back comfortingly, tilting his head down toward Cloud and pressing a soft kiss to his hair.

"Yes. May I kiss you properly this time?" Vincent asked, and Cloud shifted slowly so that they were facing each other. (Vincent had to try not to laugh at the fact that Cloud's face was red.) Vincent smile-- it was small but genuine and Cloud took note-- and gently pressed his lips against Cloud's and tilting his head, inviting Cloud to initiate further. Cloud was satisfied with this, and pressed into the kiss. It was much more gentle than Vincent had anticipated, soft and pleasant, not too invasive and still sort of timid. Vincent felt pleasant and warm, like he was floating, urging the kiss just a little deeper and earning a laugh from Cloud deep in his throat and drew back.

"You're a good kisser." Cloud hummed, smiling pleasantly.

"I appreciate the flattery, even if it isn't true."

Cloud seemed content, wedging himself a close as he possibly could to Vincent and curling his face into the collar of Vincent's shirt to hide a private smile there, curling his fingers into Vincent's hair despite the awkward angle. Vincent allowed himself to relax fully, shifting only slightly so that he could move the papers off of them and holding tightly onto his new... new boyfriend?

He still wasn't sure, but whatever it was, it felt good. Better than he'd felt in a long time, and thankfully his mind hadn't the energy to conjure up apprehensions about this yet. He could enjoy it for the moment without worrying.

He pressed a soft kiss into Cloud's hair, letting his hands roam in comforting, slow motions across his back and hair as he gripped the other and took a moment to take in that this was real.

It wasn't long before Cloud had fallen into a gentle slumber, and Vincent soon followed.

 

\---

  
Tifa sighed to herself, glancing around the area, realizing again that it was deserted and wondering if Vincent had been lying to her when he'd said that this was where he was staying.

She dug in her pocket for a moment, she's had no luck knocking for him, but she'd had her means of procuring a key from Vincent in case she should need it. (Yuffie stole it for her, in other words.) The key worked, thankfully, and she stepped into the surprisingly bright room. She'd expected his house to be as grim as his little hole he's staked out in Nibelheim, much less to have any sort of electricity. She'd have to ask how he'd set that up, it was a rare commodity since Shinra had been rather unceremoniously knocked out of power production.

She stepped inside, immediately noticing that Cloud's overcoat was draped from the coat rack and shaking her head in spite of the growing smile on her face. It made sense, there was definitely something between the two that she wasn't privy to, but she got the only answer she needed came when she stepped into the main room, seeing the both of her friends draped over one another, snoring and looking a right mess. It was actually really endearing, to her anyway.

She leaned against the doorway, taking in the sight with a growing smirk, debating whether or not she should wake them up. Considering that there was work to be done on her bar and she needed Vincent's help, (and maybe, since he was here, Cloud's,) she was going to have to, wasn't she?

"Hey, Sleeping beauties. I hate to wake you up, but it's almost noon already." Tifa spoke aloud, using her bar-voice so that she was sure it would get through to them. Vincent bolted awake nearly instantly, but Cloud grunted groggily, nearly tipping off of Vincent from being so suddenly jostled. Vincent blinked slowly, looking over at her and then running a hand through his hair sheepishly.

"Sorry, Tifa. I guess I lost track of time."

"'Sfine. I suppose I should be congratulating you two, you've been sidestepping around each other for so long I was starting to think you both were oblivious."

Vincent shot her a confused look, then looking at Cloud who was still curled up in his arms, eyes open but he was clearly still not completely awake.

"Oh. Er, yes. Thank you." Vincent muttered, feeling his face flush slightly as he rested his eyes on an empty space in the middle distance so that he wasn't making things any more awkward that they already were. "I apologize for not showing up when I intended to this morning. As you can see, I had an... unexpected night."

Did that sound bad? Oh god, was he making an ass of himself. How exactly do you explain to someone when you wake up to them tapping their foot waiting on you while you're curled around the man you're pretty sure they had a crush on at some point in the past that you were comforting them and you weren't sleeping together?

"No explanations needed, Vin. I just wanted to come and see if you still planned on helping me out today." Tifa seemed to read his mind, shooting him a knowing smile. "It's none of my business what you do, though I do think you're overthinking things."

"Yes, I do want to h--."

"No." Cloud cut in, it seemed that his mind had finally caught up with the conversation, and his blue eyes were focused on Tifa, and he was giving her a rather impish look. "Tifa you can't just steal my pillow, how could you?" Tifa sighed, but she looked like she was on the verge of laughter.

"Your pillow is supposed to be helping me with renovations."

"But he's warm."

"Oh fine. I'll be back tomorrow, though, Vincent. Have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do, ok?" Tifa shook her head, shooting them a beaming smile. She and Cloud, Vincent decided, were much more amused by his awkwardness than they had any right to be. Vincent nodded, not quite able to form words, while Cloud pressed a rather dramatic kiss to his cheek, shooting a wink to Tifa.

"I don't know, I guess I'll try to keep him out of trouble." Cloud smiled, and Vincent realized as he finally lost focus on the spot on the floor and looked at Cloud that it was the most genuine smile he'd seen from the younger man in a long time. He wasn't sure he was very happy to see his ornery streak back, though, it sort of seemed like he was going to be on the receiving end of that more and more from now on.

Tifa shook her head again and turned on her heels again.

"Oh my god, you're insufferable. Good luck, Vin." She offered over her shoulder with a wave as she walked back towards the entrance to the home and made her way out.

There was a silence for a moment where Vincent tried to get the blood to stop flooding his face and looked at Cloud, giving him a shit-eating grin from his position half-perched on him still as he relaxed back onto the couch.

"Is everyday going to be like this with you?" Vincent asked.

"We can only hope, right?"

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are super appreciated! Criticism is welcome! I hope you enjoyed, and if you'd like updates on what I'm working on in terms of fanfiction, check out my tumblr dedicated to it, Whimsyfics! Let me know if you catch and small mistakes as well so I can tweak them!


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